Tomorrow's Romance Dawn (OLD VERSION)

by OtakuWithHazelEyes

The Straw Hats have left Drum, ready to take on Baroque Works in Alabasta. However, upon making a pit stop at a 'mystery island', they come across something they never expected to find: an older Zoro! Now they must locate the rest of the future crew, as well as keep an ancient treasure out of the hands of bounty hunters. (EDITED CHAPTERS NOW ON THIS SITE AND AO3!)

23. Know Thy Enemy

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, only my OCs.

As you can see, I have removed the notice and preview. If you want to review and already "reviewed" the previous "chapter 23", then leave an anonymous review! Now, on to business.

To begin, I'd like to thank everyone for their support upon learning I had been plagiarized. "Meet the future" has since been removed from the site! Thanks again to Wordlet for being the first to notify me. You rock!

Second, thanks again to SomebodyLost for creating this story's awesome new cover image. I was truly touched that a near-complete stranger would do something so nice and generous for me. Thank you again, SomebodyLost. You made me so, so happy with this gift!

Third, I have discovered that someone already has made a TV Tropes page for this! It's unlisted, which is why I never found it before. I put the link to it in my profile, so ya'll feel free to add to it! It still needs a little love! (Whoever made it in the first place, THANK YOU. You fulfilled a dream of mine!)

Fourth, my artistically inclined sister has begun posting comic pages of select scenes from this story on her tumblr and deviantart. If you want to follow her, her account is goldenrose101 on tumblr and deviantart.

Fifth, I have decided that this story should be divided into arcs. I have come up with a somewhat plausible system, though arc lengths may vary:

Arc 1: Arrival Arc (Chapters 1-8). Contains the Straw Hats' arrival on the island and their initial meetings with Roronoa and Brook.
Arc 2: Straw Hat Round-Up Arc (Chapters 9-17). The Straw Hats split up to seek out their future crew, and we learn where they all are save for Future Luffy.
Arc 3: Surprises Clash Arc (Chapters 18-?). The Straw Hats decide to covertly get their captured friends back, but not all goes as planned. This arc contains the Camp Assault, revelations, and one of the two flashback chapters I planned for this story.
Arc 4: Star Race Arc (Chapters ?-?). The clock is ticking as both sides converge on the Star of Kāla. This arc contains the second flashback chapter.
Arc 5: Leviathan's Awakening Arc (Chapters ?-?). The final showdown between the Straw Hats and the bounty hunters... on top of dealing with a new horror unleashed on the island.
Arc 6: Departure Arc (Chapters ?-?). As conflict ends, the pirates of both past and future say their goodbyes and leave the island.
Mini-Arc: After Dawn... Or The Epilogues. This story will have more than one epilogue. It should only be one or two chapters.

This chapter offers a little more insight into the enemy, hence the chapter's title. If you like my OCs, good for you! If you don't, tough. Carrion and the gang are no different the CP9, the Dressrosan royal family, and people like them. They are necessary for the story, and I will be focusing on them. The two flashback chapters I planned focus on my OCs, not unlike Kyros' flashback or Lucci's. If you don't like OCs, then you really shouldn't be reading a story with OCs in it anyway. I better not get complaints, because if I do, this is what I will say: This is MY story, not yours. I will write it however I want, with whatever OCs I want.

---

SBS 10!

Chapter Question: "Which of the anime openings is your favorite?"

It used to be a tie-up between "One Day", "Fight Together" and "Hands Up!", but I really like the newest one, "Hard Knock Days." What can I say? When it comes to the anime openings, Toei knows how to pick them.

---

Chapter 19: Know Thy Enemy

---

Location: Carrion Bounty Hunter Base Camp, Jungle's Northern Sector
Time: Sunset (which is lasting unusually long...)

Usopp was no stranger to bad days. Heaven knows he's had plenty of them.

Like the day he accidentally ate a poisonous mushroom- that was a bad day. The day his mother died- that was even worse. The day he discovered his best friend's butler was an evil pirate and wanted to kill her and all the villagers- that started out as a bad day but got much better when he made new friends and joined a pirate crew.

But today? Yeah, it was definitely shaping out to be a very bad day. First, the cyborg he'd bonded with had actually been a hypnotized drone. Second, he'd been forced to watch one of his first crewmates get flambéed by another hypnotized future crewmate. Third, he'd gotten electrocuted by presumably yet another hypnotized future crewmate.

Finally, he'd woken up to find himself tied to a pole, unarmed, right in the middle of a camp full of people who wanted to kill him and/or turn in his future self's bounty. At least Runo had walked away after pouring water on him. He was one of the last people Usopp wanted to deal with right now.

And to put a cherry on top of everything, he had no idea where Zoro was. Brook didn't either.

"I woke up before you, Usopp-san," Brook said weakly. "Zoro-san wasn't here then either."

Usopp grit his teeth. "This is not good... who knows what these psychos are doing to him. Are you sure you can't do anything?"

"Under normal circumstances I could have my soul leave my body and look for him or even Luffy-san." Brook struggled uselessly against the chains. "But these chains appear to be made of sea prism stone. I can't use my powers."

Usopp raised a confused eyebrow. "Sea prism stone?"

"It's a special mineral that gives off the same energy as the ocean. It weakens those who possess cursed fruit abilities," the other prisoner in the vicinity replied before Brook could. She was standing, leaning against the side of her cage. "Might I remind you that you have someone here who's been in the camp since it was set up and therefore could have a plethora of information for you?"

Usopp sighed. And then there was her- Roronoa's 'mystery kid.' (At least, he assumed this was her. Then again, how many little kids could possibly be running around on the island?) She had to be one of the weirdest looking kids he'd ever met.

She was a short girl, maybe ten or eleven years old. She had longish hair that was the most ridiculous shade of red he'd ever seen, nut-brown skin, and golden eyes that glinted eerily. On her face were weird markings done in smeared blue face paint- two dots under her left eye, a check-like mark under her right eye, and a blue stripe that went from the top of her bottom lip to under her chin.

Her clothes only upped the weirdness- she wore a brown headband with a blue eyeball-shaped ornament on it tied around her head (though it did nothing to keep her bangs out of her face), a camo-green tank top that showed her belly, weird camo-green leggings where the left leg stopped in the middle of her thigh and the the right one came down to her ankle, but was open on the inside of her legs with crisscrossing straps while the outside was fringed. Over the green clothes she wore a tan-colored short-sleeved shoulder-exposing poncho that covered only her upper torso, which was covered in painted symbols, and a short tan skirt. On her feet were light brown moccasins, on her left leg was some kind of straw decoration, and on her arms were fingerless gloves that reached her elbows. She also wore a gold choker and gold hoop earrings.

She also had a black eye, which showed she'd been having a rough time of it too. However, she didn't appear bothered in the slightest that she was injured and stuck in a cage. If anything, she looked bored.

"This blows. The first new faces I see in awhile and they can't even hold a decent conversation. The lackeys even took me out of that stupid tent for this!" She made a pouty face. "Even Blood Eyes started talking to me when he got bored enough- especially when I didn't want him to. Aren't you guys bored too?"

"Bored?!" Usopp snapped. "I've been captured by bounty hunters, tied to a pole, and I have no idea where one of my friends is! How can I possibly be bored?!"

"Oh great, another whiner. I thought Mohawk New Woman was bad enough."

"I'M NOT WHINING! And you were just whining ten seconds ago about being bored!"

"I was not whining, I was complaining," the girl huffed. She crossed her arms. "Besides, I'm twelve. What's your excuse?"

"Um, Usopp-san?" Brook interjected before the argument could continue. "Don't you think there are more valuable uses of our time than fighting with a young girl? She did just offer to tell us information, which we are in dire need of."

"She's just a kid! What could she know?" Usopp snapped, annoyed.

"I know more than you, Fish Lips," she retorted. "You've been on this island for a matter of days. I've lived here for more than three years."

"... Fish Lips?"

"I was going to call you Long Nose, but I have a feeling it's been done." She shrugged. "Wouldn't want to make your obvious inferiority complex any worse, after all."

"INFERIORITY-?!"

"HEY!" one of the bounty hunters hollered over at them. "PIPE DOWN OR ELSE!"

The little girl blew a raspberry at the hunter, making him red faced. Luckily, instead of punishing her, he simply shot her an offensive gesture and went back to whatever he had been doing.

"Show a little respect for me, brat," Usopp hissed quietly. "You are before the Great Captain Usopp. I command a pirate fleet of eight million men, and have defeated fishmen and warlords single-handedly! And I do not have an inferiority complex!"

Brook sweatdropped. He didn't remember Usopp ever being this bad.

"Inflating one's ego and making themselves appear to be more than they are is a sure sign of an inferiority complex," the girl said with a fake smile. Shen then frowned and sat down cross-legged "FYI, the key to telling a good lie is to keep it as close to the truth as possible. I know captains, and you're no captain."

"Hey! I tell great-!" Usopp began to argue.

"DIDN'T I SAY TO PIPE THE HELL DOWN?!" the same hunter from earlier screamed.

"GO MATE WITH A SEA KING!" Siobhan screamed back. She turned back to the pirates. "Look, as much fun as trading insults with you is, it isn't exactly productive. Could we please move on? How about we start by introducing ourselves? It's better to argue as familiars than strangers you know."

Usopp scowled. "You're the one who started it, you little-!"

"Excuse him, he's just had a long day," Brook apologized, thankfully interrupting. "My name is 'Dead Bones' Brook, and my friend here is Usopp-san. What's your name?"

The girl smirked, and all of a sudden Brook and Usopp got the very, very strong feeling that this was no ordinary little girl. That smirk was the same one Zoro made when he wanted to convey that the one receiving the smirk had better consider long and hard about what he was getting himself into.

"Now we're getting somewhere," she said coolly. "I've had few monikers myself- Calypso, Guardian, the Shaman. Nothing fancy like Dead Bones, though. But primarily, my name is Piranha Siobhan of the Saṅkalpa. A pleasure to meet you, Bones and Fish Lips."

Piranha Siobhan

Guardian and Ward of Kāla

Her evil smirk melted away into a wide, excited grin not unlike the ones they often saw their captain give.

"So, you guys are part of a pirate crew, right?" she asked. "Before I tell you what I know, do you mind telling me a little about that first?"

---

Location: Bounty Hunter Camp, Main Tent

"Now, please understand that the last thing I want to do is lose my temper," Carrion said cordially, despite the vein throbbing on his forehead. "But allow me to be the first to say that THIS IS COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE!"

Vaughan, Erity, Runo, and Yari all sweatdropped, thinking at the same time, Why say that if you're just going to contradict yourself?

Then again, they had been expecting this as soon as they had entered the camp. They were surprised the boss had waited this long to call them to his tent and yell at them. Here they were now, standing before their boss as he sat in an armchair and fumed. Saffron stood by his side and remained complete straight faced, but that was hardly unusual.

"I ask you to locate the Star; you give me nothing. I give you the simpler task of capturing the rest of Straw Hat Pirates; you give me a no-name sniper and the Humming Swordsman," Carrion ranted.

"Actually, we think the no-name is really Sniper-" Yari began.

"I don't care! The point I'm trying to make is that the effort you've been showing thus far has been completely atrocious! Honestly, how long does it take to capture one group of pirate filth?!"

Vaughan opened his mouth.

"And Vaughan, before you say anything, that was a rhetorical question!"

Vaughan closed his mouth.

"In our defense boss, it's not just one group of pirate filth," Erity reasoned. "We have reported to you about the 'others' that have shown up as Siobhan predicted-"

"You think that makes a difference?" Carrion scoffed. "Just focus your energy on nabbing the Straw Hats we don't have and eliminate the rest. Past or future, I doubt the World Government will care."

"He has a point..." Runo muttered.

Yari shushed him.

Carrion heaved a tired sigh and began rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Luckily, we can still make this work in our favor. If the reports on Straw Hat are anything to go by, he's fiercely possessive of his crew. It's only a matter of time before he stages a rescue, and we'll be ready."

"The kid did declare war on the World Government to get one crewmate back," Vaughan recalled, almost admiringly. "We got six of them with us."

"But that was the future Straw Hat," Yari said. "At least, the Straw Hat from farther into the future than the one Vaughan defeated. There is no telling what this younger one will do, since he obviously knows how weak he is compared to us."

"An idiot's an idiot, no matter how much time passes," Erity snorted. "He'll come."

"And what of the future Straw Hat?" Carrion asked.

"Not counting that royal sand rat, the Straw Hat from our time is the only pirate on the island still unaccounted for," Yari answered. "Speaking of which, what should we do about Vivi? Her appearance here proves all those rumors from two years ago."

"I honestly don't care about her. We wouldn't have proof and it'd be pointless to blow the whistle on her at this point. With Cobra being ill, Alabasta needs a representative at the Reverie. We can use her past self as a hostage if need be, but let's keep her future self out of all this. It's not worth the trouble or the political headache."

This was code for swallow your vendetta against Alabasta and focus on the matter at hand, so Yari scowled and crossed her arms.

"Actually boss, Yari's statement about our time's Straw Hat being the only one unaccounted for isn't true," Runo broke in. "We still haven't got any leads on Nico Robin's whereabouts. At least, not since we came across those guys with their spines twisted into pretzels."

"Those men have received medical attention, but only 30% of them will regain the ability to walk," Saffron stated.

"No one cares about those weaklings!" Runo snapped at her.

Carrion frowned. "Nico Robin, eh? That will be an issue... argh, why have you let her roam around for this long?"

Runo stuck a finger in his face. "I don't see why you're chewing us out for being useless when you've done nothing but sit on your butt here at camp! As Vaughan would say, pot and kettle, boss!"

"All teams have a piece of my Vivre Card in order to find the camp again- I have to stay here," Carrion told him calmly. "I've also been coordinating the teams still searching from here. The few that are left anyway- in case you haven't heard, we lost contact with Alpha Unit and it's safe to assume they've been completely wiped out."

The lieutenants' eyes all widened.

"But t-that is impossible!" Yari exclaimed. "Alpha Unit is made up entirely of our best men! All of the members in it are next in line to become lieutenants!"

"We sail the New World, a place where it once literally rained cats and dogs on us," Erity deadpanned. "And you recently got your butt handed to you by a talking skeleton. No one in this tent is in any position to decide what is or isn't possible."

"I did not get my butt handed to me!" Yari denied. "He caught me off-guard!"

"I remember the cat and dog thing," Runo spoke up, ignoring his sister. He suddenly looked depressed. "That was a sad day..."

While this lull in the conversation occurred, Vaughan took the chance to thoroughly think about this new information.

Alpha Unit's members are no pushovers... I doubt anything as simple as a Lake Lord or wild beast got them. And I don't think the groups from the jungle and the cavern or Nico Robin got to them, so that leaves... His eyes widened again, then he smirked. Heh. Looks like he's been keeping busy with giving Carrion a headache. I approve.

"Boss, if I may make a suggestion, I believe now is a good time to make use of Miss Siobhan," Saffron broke in. "She is currently our best chance at locating the Star, and we can't afford to lose any more men."

Vaughan shot Saffron a sharp glance.

"Ugh, can we please just do that!" Erity moaned. "This whole 'running around the jungle blindly' thing is getting old!"

There was much nodding in agreement from Yari and Runo.

Carrion exhaled loudly from his nose, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigar. As he lit it he replied, "I was hoping to avoid this. There's no guarantee she won't lead us astray..."

Not to mention he would have other needs of her later down the line... Carrion closed his eyes, thinking his options over. This lasted about two minutes.

"Sir?" Saffron inquired.

Carrion opened his eyes. "Very well. Saffron, contact the remaining squads and tell them to converge on the camp. As for the four of you, get some rest. As soon as the sun rises again, we will take Siobhan as one whole group and make her take us to the Star."

"Yes, sir!" his five subordinates said together.

"In that case," Erity went on, stretching her arms. "I'll get dinner going. Shouldn't take too long."

"I'm gonna go play with my toys!" Runo declared cheerfully. "I want to try out my new robot!"

Yari looked herself over. She was still wearing the rags remaining from her fight. "I will... go get changed. Oh, and Runo, do you mind sending my dolly my way? I will want to play with her when I am done."

"But I wanted to play with her," Runo pouted.

"Pervert," Erity told him.

"That's not what I-"

"Oh, for the love of the Blues, would you three leave?!" Vaughan said harshly, shoving his comrades out of the tent. Once they were gone, he sighed and rubbed his temple. He turned to his boss. "Remind me again why we hired them?"

"You suggested we hire elites when we first met, they came highly recommended, and they are convenient in managing our lesser hunters," Carrion replied. He gave Vaughan a slightly concerned look. "Are you alright? It's not like you to lose your composure like that."

"Blame Straw Hat," Vaughan said, crossing his arms. "That little punk could wear down the Buddha's patience, and he didn't do mine any favors. I haven't met anyone this aggravating since-" He stopped, frowned, then shook his head. "Anyway, if that's all, I guess I'll head back to my tent."

"Go on ahead."

Vaughan nodded then moved to exit the tent.

"Oh, and Vaughan?" Carrion spoke up.

Vaughan halted and looked over his shoulder.

Carrion gave him a reassuring smile. "Don't let those three get to you. Remember, there's a reason you're my second-in-command and not one of them."

"I thought that was due to seniority. You know, me being the first guy to join up and all."

"If it were up to seniority, Saffron would be my second."

"Then what's your reason?"

"You are my second because you annoy me the least and are far more intelligent then those three. However, if we're still on the topic of seniority, it's the reason you are my most trusted subordinate."

Vaughan raised a skeptic eyebrow. "Next to Saffron, you mean."

Saffron shrugged.

Carrion chuckled. "Duruhuhu, that's goes without saying- she's my personal assistant. Now, away with you. I hate to miss one of Erity's meals, but I want to get some sleep before the hunt in the morning... whenever that will be. Oh, and when the sun finally finishes setting, return Siobhan to the storage tent. Can't have her think we're going soft."

Vaughan smiled, then exited the tent. But as soon as tent flap closed behind him, obscuring him from his boss's sight, the red-eyed man let his smile become a suspicious frown.

Little did Vaughan know, Carrion did the exact same thing.

---

Location: Jungle's Northern Sector, steadily approaching the encampment

"How much longer?" Luffy whined. "We've been walking forever!"

That wasn't totally true- while the group had been walking for awhile now, it was hardly a long enough period of time to be referred to as 'forever.' As ordered, Robin and Nami were leading the crew towards the bounty hunters' camp, which Robin claimed was situated in a more mountainous area on the island. This resulted in a little more rock climbing on their chosen path, which was partially the reason the journey was taking so long. Luffy hung in the back with a new walking stick, more than happy to moan about his boredom.

"It's still a little ways away, Captain," Robin informed him. "But we should arrive by dark if we keep out current pace."

"I don't know about that," Nami observed, squinting her eyes at the reddening sky. "The sun has been 'setting' for a long time. I don't think its moved since the last time I looked at it."

"All the more reason to keep moving like this. We have no idea when the sun will decide to set on us," Roronoa commented.

"Actually, could we maybe take a little break?" Chopper spoke up. "Luffy's still badly injured, and me and Tony don't want his injuries to aggravate too much. He might start bleeding again."

"Yeah! That Vaughan guy sounded terrible, but I rather we didn't waste the blood he gave Luffy back," Tony added, recalling what he'd been told by his younger self.

It was really hard to say no to those cute reindeer faces, so the group took the desired break on top of a large flat rock. Luffy even agreed to stopping provided he got to eat some jerky Sanji had packed.

"Hey, guys? I've been thinking about something," Lysopp spoke up after a few minutes. "You know that message on the statue?"

"Yes, Lysopp. We were all there," Sanji responded, holding a cigarette out in front of himself. He didn't have many left. "What about it?"

"Well, Robin said it was less than 5 years old while the other engravings were hundreds of years old, right?" Lysopp went on. "So it begs the question- how did it get there?"

"I believe it's safe to assume Siobhan put it there, don't you think?" Vivi said, refilling the jug around Carue's neck. "Perhaps she hasn't always lived here and put the message there when she first arrived, or she did live here all along and put the message there when the Star was hidden here."

"I guess, but if the message is about 5 years old and Siobhan is twelve, then does that mean she's lived here all by herself since she was seven or eight?" Lysopp crossed his arms. "I mean, the legend did say she was the last of her race... wait, that's another thing I don't get. If the Saṅkalpa are from that Calypso Island, what are their ruins and writings doing on this island?"

"I theorize that the Saṅkalpa originated from Kāla," Robin explained. "Taking into account Barun's interest in both the tribe and the island, it makes sense. And when the island appeared in the West Blue some millennia ago, the Saṅkalpa decided to move."

"Can't say I blame them," Sanji grunted. "I bet traveling through time and space constantly would get crappy after awhile."

"But if they lived on Calypso for thousands of years, then why are the ruins only several hundred years old?" Lysopp questioned. "And why is Siobhan still just a child and not an old lady or dead? Is it because the island moves in and out of time?" He groaned. "Gah, this is so confusing!"

Nami and Vivi sweatdropped. Maybe you're thinking too much into this?

"Siobhan did tell Roronoa time does whatever it wants here," Tony piped up. "The legend said so too."

"And if Time is anything like Luffy, there's no point in questioning it," Roronoa finished.

Luffy looked up from his jerky eating briefly, shrugged, and then went back to stuffing his face.

Chopper, who had taken the break as a chance to go through his medical supplies, looked up. "I hate the idea of a little girl being trapped in the camp with those bounty hunters. Are you sure we can't save her too when we go to save Brook, Usopp, Zoro, and the rest?"

"She said she was waiting for something when I was there. If she doesn't want to be freed, there's very little we can do," Robin sighed. "I find it a bit foolish, honestly."

Roronoa snorted. "You're the last person to criticize someone for stubbornly not wanting to be saved, Robin."

Vivi raised an eyebrow when she heard this. What did Mr. Roronoa mean by that?

Robin frowned. "This situation is completely different. Siobhan is clearly waiting for some kind of opportunity. I just wish I knew why. I usually like a good enigma, but this is irritating. I just hope her stubbornness doesn't result in her getting into a hypnotized puppet or a paralyzed doll."

"Robin!" Lysopp scolded. "Don't be so morbid! Especially where a child is concerned!"

"If we're dealing with Dancing Haze Runo and Last Nerve Yari, that's a logical outcome for her."

Sanji gave Robin a weird look. "Runo's epithet is 'Dancing Haze'? That's so lame!"

"What doofus in the World Government came up with something that stupid?" Nami asked. "He should get slapped for it!"

---

Meanwhile, in another time and place...

"Aaa-choo!" Spandam sneezed, causing him to spill hot coffee all over himself. "YEEEE-OOOOUUCH! Stupid coffee! Whoever is talking about me will pay for this!"

---

Back with the crew...

"Hey, Vivi!" Luffy shouted all of a sudden. "You said that those Haze Dancer and Nerve Girl people were from your home country, right? Did you know them? Are they really strong? Not that I want to fight them, I'm just curious since Zoro-ossan, Usopp-ossan, Chopper-ossan, and Robin have to fight them."

For once, Luffy wasn't lying. And the crew knew, because Luffy was infamously terrible liar.

"I never knew them personally, but they are strong. They were the best bounty hunters in my home country," Vivi answered.

"Yari was able to hold her own against me in our duel," Roronoa added. "Not to mention if what Vivi's told us is true, Runo was able to take down Franky and hypnotize him."

"I'd heard rumors back in Alabasta that besides their fighting skills, they had practically inhuman strength." Vivi shivered. "I wouldn't be surprised if that were true. Yari was inhuman enough back on the Merry. It's a mystery why Crocodile never recruited them into Baroque Works- they could have easily taken the Mr. 1 pair spot." She paused and explained quickly, "The Mr. 1 spot is directly below the boss's level."

The past Straw Hats made sounds of understanding. That made sense.

"Well, that wasn't from a lack of trying," Robin said off-handedly.

"What do you mean, Robin?" Luffy asked.

Robin crossed her arms. "Crocodile did invite Yari and Runo to join Baroque Works. He even offered them the positions Mr. 1 and Miss Doublefinger currently hold in your time."

The Straw Hats all snapped their attention to Robin, shouting, "EHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!"

"W-W-What?!" Lysopp stuttered. "But that's just not possible!"

"Yeah, we never saw those two freaks in Alabasta! Did we?!" Tony added frantically.

"Calm down, you didn't see them," the archaeologist assured them. "The Baba siblings never accepted Crocodile's invitation. He was absolutely livid about it when we got the refusal; he ranted about their arrogance for a solid hour, which for him was impressive."

"Why would turning him down make them arrogant?" Chopper asked.

"Because they refused by mailing us a picture of the agent we sent to deliver the invitation, decapitated, along with a note telling us where we could shove our offer."

Chopper shrieked in fright.

"Yeesh, I've heard of shooting the messenger, but that's overkill," Sanji commented.

"If there's one thing the Babas excel at, it's overkill," Vivi sighed. "That's why they got banished in the first place."

"They have guts, at least," Roronoa said with grudging respect. "It's one thing to anger Luffy, but to risk pissing off a warlord, even a sleaze like Crocodile, takes balls."

"You mean like you did when you killed Mr. 7, Roronoa? Your rejection happened not long after the Babas'," Robin pointed out.

"You were invited to join Baroque Works, Zoro-ossan?" Luffy asked.

"I remember you saying something like that back on Whiskey Peak," Vivi remembered.

"When did that happen?" Nami inquired.

"Awhile before I met Luffy," Roronoa replied. He gave Robin a puzzled look. "But how did you know-?"

She smiled. "Who do you think authorized the invitation in the first place?"

Figures, Vivi thought. Ms. All-Sunday did have an eye for 'talent'... she helped recruit at least half the officer agents...

Roronoa's eye widened slightly. "Really? I... I don't know how to feel about that."

Robin simply giggled.

"Wait a second!" Lysopp hollered. He turned to Robin. "Robin, when you were part of Baroque Works, did they do background checks and information probes on potential members?"

Robin nodded. "It was all part of organization procedure. That's how I knew Ms. Wednesday's true identity, though I did end up keeping it secret."

Vivi scowled.

"Then we don't need to go in blind!" Lysopp continued. "If Yari, Runo, Vaughan and Erity have been bounty hunting for a long time, then odds are Baroque Works considered them for membership at one point or another. Robin can tell us everything she knows about their abilities so we can add it to what we already know, then we have an advantage when we fight them!"

"If Robin knew anything, don't you think she would have already told us?" Nami told him.

Before Lysopp could wilt over dejectedly, he heard a nervous chuckle coming from over in the older woman's direction. Once again, the group all turned to look at Robin.

"Robin?" Luffy said. "Do you know something after all?"

"Actually... I do," Robin admitted. She rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. "It didn't even occur to me to think back on information I gained from Baroque Works... I usually try not to think back on that time. Normally I wouldn't have even brought up all that I've said about the Baba siblings or Roronoa. I guess I've been a bit distracted lately."

"That's not like you, Robin," Tony said worriedly. "Are you okay?"

She nodded. "I'm fine. No need to concern yourself."

"In that case, let's get moving again!" Luffy announced, standing up from where he sat. "Usopp, Zoro, and the others are still waiting. Robin can tell us on the way to the hunters' camp!"

"YOSH!" the crew replied.

The Straw Hats quickly packed up anything they had set out during their break and began their trek once again. This time, Luffy took the lead and didn't even bring along his walking stick.

"Don't look at me like that. It's your own fault for trying to take on an enemy you weren't ready to fight."

"Figures as much. Keep this up and you'll only lose your crew."

I may not be strong enough to take you on yet, Vampire Guy, Luffy thought. But I can at least make sure my crew knows what they're getting into. And next time we meet... maybe I'll get my rematch. Even if it's just 'me' as my future self fighting you. I won't lose my crew. We'll be ready.

"Robin, since we're already talking about them, start with the Baba Twins, okay?" Luffy called back to her. "Tell us about the girl who attacked the Merry first."

Robin nodded. "Baba Yari. As you all already know, she possesses the power of the Nerve Nerve Fruit, which allows her to manipulate physical sensation as she sees fit. She is also a powerful swordsman. She wields a sword she calls the Shinkei Kattā. It's not one of the legendary named blades like Mr. Swordsman and Roronoa carry, but it's said to be just as strong. In terms of her skill... well, the fact she held her own against Roronoa and Brook says a lot, but I once heard from an associate she recently fought a swordsman named Haruta from the Whitebeard Pirates to a draw."

"The Whitebeard Pirates?!" Sanji shouted. "Does she have a death wish?!"

"I was right, she does have balls," Roronoa muttered.

"On top of sword ability, you told me she possesses Kenbunshoku Haki, which allows her to predict attacks," Robin went on. "But her control doesn't seem that good if it slipped when she got angry enough. You can work with that. She's arrogant and and thinks highly of her strength, so we need to use that against her if we can." She frowned and looked at Vivi and the other Past Straw Hats. "I'm going to be blunt- the only reason Zoro and Usopp did somewhat well against her is because she underestimated them. I doubt she's stupid enough to make the same mistake twice."

The Past Straw Hats nodded, the members of the Weakling Trio also gulping at the same time.

"As for her brother... I'm afraid my knowledge about him is much more limited. We know he has Kenbunshoku haki, thanks to Lysopp, but it's almost as if they went out of their to make sure his skills were off the record. I was quite shocked when you told me about his hypnotist abilities. In the Baroque Works report, it said he had the Haze Haze Fruit, not the Hypno Hypno Fruit."

"Maybe it was a typo?" Chopper offered.

Robin shook her head. "I doubt it. I'm willing to bet that Yari and Runo spread rumors about him having the Haze Haze Fruit in an effort to keep his real abilities a secret. Did you know that the World Government has a blacklist for devil fruits?"

"A blacklist?" Nami echoed. "You mean like when a person is blacklisted from a job, and then they can't get the job?"

"Yes, but in this case, it's a list of devil fruits people are not allowed to have access to. The list itself is very short, with only four or five fruits on it. And if a person does possess that fruit, the government is supposed to capture the user and execute them immediately," Robin explained. "Devil fruits on the list are deemed too dangerous or too risky to have in active circulation. Can you guess which devil fruit is on the list?"

---

Location: Bounty Hunter Camp, Yari's tent

"Ah, the Hypno Hypno Fruit," Yari sighed, running a brush through her 'dolly's' hair. "It is a thing of beauty, really. We were so lucky to find it when we did."

Yari had changed her clothes. She now wore a puffy-sleeved dark pink blouse, a black leather corset, black short-shorts, thigh-high diamond-patterned stockings, black combat boots, and her Alabastan jewelry. Pinned in her hair was a large black rose with a little skull at its center.

"Of course, once we discovered what it was, we could not let anyone know Runo had it," she went on, perusing a box of hairpins. "The Hypno Hypno Fruit is on the government's blacklist. If they knew he had its powers, they would hunt him down and kill him." She snorted. "Politicians are so paranoid. They fear of being hypnotized by a user, forcing them to be his puppets while he controls everything behind the scenes with hypnotic suggestions. Could you imagine what kind of damage Runo could do to the world if he were able to hypnotize kings, navy admirals, and government officials? Luckily for them, Runo is not nearly that ambitious. Still, it is vital we keep it a secret. No one outside of the lieutenants and Carrion knows he has it."

"And yet, you have no problem blabbing about it to me."

Yari smirked at her 'guest.' "You are a pirate. Who would you tell? More importantly, who would believe you if you did tell, Zoro?"

Zoro snarled ferally. His arms were tied behind a post in the large tent, and his waist was tied to it for good measure. All he could do was sit crosslegged in this position. For a 'guest', he didn't feel the hospitality. His swords were sitting on the other side of the tent, mocking him, and his injuries from Future Sanji were left untreated. Not that he could feel them at the moment.

"What is with that scary face?" Yari said with a pin in her teeth as she twisted her 'dolly's' hair into a braid-bun combo. "It is not like you can do anything to me. I paralyzed every part of your body except your face, remember? That is why you are still able to mouth off to me."

Zoro debated replying to that, then settled on just snarling deeper.

Yari shrugged and finished with her 'dolly's' hair. "Where was I... ah yes, the Hypno Hypno Fruit. It was convenient for Runo. Now he can have as many toys as he wants. Personally, I prefer to use my own powers to create my dolls, but I have to admit, his fruit makes good dolls as well." She hugged the girl in front of her from behind and pressed her face to the other's cheek. "So stoic, but with the added feature of mobility. It makes for easy traveling."

If Zoro weren't tied up and paralyzed at the moment, he would have jumped up and strangled the short woman. "Get your hands off her!"

'Her' being the 'dolly.' It was a young woman in her twenties, with pale skin and large brown eyes- eyes that held all the blankness of an entranced person. She wore a dark green and black Lolita dress with a short skirt, long flared sleeves, and exposed her shoulders, as well as a choker with a bow and knee-high boots. Her vibrant orange hair was now braided and twisted into a bun, the pin holding it in place resembling a lily of some kind. The revealed shoulder facing Zoro held a blue tattoo, and despite it being half-covered by the dress, he was able to make out the pinwheel and the tangerine.

It was undoubtedly Future Nami, and while Zoro heavily distrusted the crew from the future (and didn't like Nami all that much), seeing her getting pawed at by a sadistic witch made him want to vomit.

"Since you asked so nicely..." Yari said sarcastically.

Yari stepped away from Future Nami... only to walk over to Zoro and sit herself down in his lap.

"There. Is this to your liking?" she asked.

"No," Zoro answered through grit teeth.

"Too bad," she chirped. She leaned back against Zoro's chest. "You know, you should be more grateful to me. If I had not paralyzed you, your weakling body would be feeling all those burns Black Leg gave it. If you keep acting so uncouth, I may have to rescind my generosity."

To prove her point, her hand traveled up Zoro's arm, and lightly she tapped one of his burns. The burn glowed pink briefly as a fresh burning sensation and the force of the original kick coursed through the limb. Zoro bit back a hiss of pain. It was a good thing the rest of his body was numb, or the pain would be much worse.

Yari humphed in disappointment. "You are definitely Pirate Hunter's younger self. You have no idea how to make a lady happy."

"So you are a sadist," Zoro grunted.

Yari ignored this and went on talking. "I hope your older self shows up soon. He was far more interesting than you are. I have never seen someone with sword ability and pain tolerance like his before. It makes me wonder what he has been up to these last two years..."

Zoro raised an eyebrow. The last two years? What did that have to do with anything?

Wait. Was this his chance to get some answers? If Yari just kept yakking away and he didn't ask anything, it wouldn't be going against Luffy's gag order. All the little sadist had to do was keep on talking...

"Yo, sis!" Runo declared, strolling into the tent with a hand covering his eyes. "You doing anything I wouldn't do?!"

Zoro was now sure the universe was taunting him.

Yari jumped to her feet and put her hands on her hips. "Runo, of course not! Why is it whenever I bring people into my tent, you think I am doing something indecent?!"

Runo removed his hand and gave his sister a knowing look. "Ever since that time on Visigoth Island-"

"WE AGREED THAT NEVER HAPPENED!"

"No, you said it never happened. I just went along with it so I wouldn't have to keep listening to you squawk like a harpy."

The captured swordsman rolled his eyes.

Runo finally took notice of Future Nami, then gasped. "Yari! Why isn't Cat Burglar in the outfit I picked out?! That was our agreement for letting you play with her!"

Yari crossed her arms and looked away with her nose in the air. "There is no way I am making her wear that monstrosity you showed me. My dollies will look elegant, damn it!"

"Monstrosity?" Runo, seemingly out of nowhere, pulled out a frilly pink dress and a pair of pink pumps. "I thought this looked rather nice."

"It is hideous! Where did you even find it?!"

"On the Straw Hats' ship. The lion one."

"Then the females on the crew have no taste whatsoever!"

"... I found these in Black Leg's locker in the boys' cabin."

"... I am not even going to comment on that."

Zoro grimaced, now a bit disturbed. It was like he didn't even know the cook anymore. At least not in the next two years.

"Ah, whatever!" Runo announced, tossing the frilly outfit aside. He walked up to Future Nami and hugged her affectionately. "She still looks great, Yari! You know how to make my toys look pretty!"

"Get off of her right now or so help me-!" Zoro roared.

"Oh, don't get your panties in a knot, Pirate Hunter," Runo interrupted, taking on a smooth tone. It was the same one he used back in the cavern to lord his ambush over their heads. "I won't do anything indecent to Cat Burglar while she's under my thrall. I may be a bounty hunter with psychopathic tendencies, but even I have standards."

Zoro growled. "Then you and your freaky sister stop touching her. You're both so clingy; what, did your parents not hold you two enough when you were brats?"

Of all the responses Zoro was expecting, the twins falling to their knees in depression was not one of them.

"How did he know that?" they twins said miserably.

Idiots, Zoro thought.

The sudden gloom didn't last and soon enough the twins were standing proudly.

"Yari, why don't you take your dolly and go join up with my other toys," Runo said coolly. He gestured to Zoro. "I want to chat privately with Grass Stain over here."

Yari frowned, but took Future Nami by the hand and led her out of the tent. Once the women were gone, Runo turned to Zoro and smiled at him innocently.

"Now, what to do with you?" Runo asked himself. "Boss Carrion obviously wants to turn you in for your future self's bounty, but I think we're a little ways off from the nearest marine base. It seems like a waste to just leave you tied up to a post in my sister's tent. Must be quite the experience for you though. Yari's a bit kinky."

"This isn't the first time I've been tied to a post by an enemy and had an idiot talk nonsense in front of me." Zoro smirked. "Only difference here is that I doubt I'll be joining your crew by the end of this."

"Oh. You get really get around then." Runo smirked as well. "Still, that still leaves the question of what to do with you. I suppose I'll just have to interrogate you. I got practically nothing from my robot, Yari's dolly, the Chef, and Fluffy McFluffmeister. You could be useful."

"Then what? You'll use those forbidden powers of yours to make me into one of your toys?" Zoro asked bitterly, the smirk vanishing.

Runo made a sour face. "Yari cannot keep a secret to save her life. My life on the other hand..." He stuck thumbs into his belt, looking wistful. "Did you know I actually had a panic attack when I heard my devil fruit was blacklisted? I had just gotten banished from Alabasta, life sucked... it was really the last thing I needed then and there. I looked like such a weakling... it was shameful."

Runo's expression became one of utter disgust, as if the idea of weakness thoroughly sickened him. It was something Zoro noticed about him and his sister. They seemed to have a fixation with strength, and being weak was not an option. Zoro didn't like weakness either, but the twins took it to a whole other level. They didn't tolerate it in themselves or in others.

Runo perked up. "I'm better now obviously, and my Hypno Hypno abilities are a real godsend. You have seen my robot, right? I love the the robot. I miss my reindeer though."

At this point, Zoro had decided to no longer grace Runo's ramblings with responses. He'd heard a saying once that said if you got into an argument with a fool, no one would be able to tell the difference. Except in this case the person he was arguing with was just acting like a fool. The cold, mocking man from the cavern with a strength obsession was no fool.

"At any rate, I think I've decided what I'm going to do with you." Runo reached into one of Yari's trunks and removed a giant first aid kit that would have made Chopper salivate. "First, we get you patched up! Unlike my sister, I don't believe in causing unnecessary physical agony. But after that..."

Runo was in front of Zoro in the time it took the latter to blink, gripping him by the hair and forcing the swordsman to look him in his visible eye. The eye in question was no longer green, but a swirling pattern of colors.

Runo chuckled. "... We'll have playtime."

---

Back with the Straw Hats...

"This Runo guy must be dangerous if even the World Government doesn't want his fruit in circulation," Nami said. "But considering everything he's done with hypnotism so far..."

She didn't have to finish. Everyone remembered.

"The weirdo from Usopp's village kept putting me to sleep back then, and the rice cracker girl nearly made me fail in getting you guys out of that wax trap," Luffy noted, watching as Sanji kicked a large rock out of the group's path. "... I don't like hypnotists."

"We have to accept the fact that despite Roronoa and Robin's plan, there's a chance you past pirates will get dragged into the crossfire," Lysopp said. "If that becomes the case, we definitely need to make sure Luffy stays away from Runo. Past or future, he's not exactly an easy opponent."

"We also need to keep in mind Runo may have used his hypnotism to get information about us from our captured crewmates," Robin added. "Runo will use that against us, making him a worse opponent."

"Don't worry, Lysopp, I will. As for Runo, we'll show him that knowing our moves isn't the same as facing our moves," Luffy said confidently. He turned to Robin. "Okay, who's next after the twins?"

"If we're going in order from weakest to strongest, then next is Erity, the hunters' second lieutenant," Robin replied. "At least, that's what the lackey's I interrogated told me she was."

Nami shuddered, remembering the mohawked woman. "I can tell you about her, Luffy. She was a monster- her kicks cut through trees, she could walk on air, she moved so fast it looked like she was teleporting, and I broke my staff on her head and she didn't even blink!" She turned to Lysopp. "Did I forget anything?"

"The part where she stabbed her fingers into me," Lysopp said, rubbing the afflicted arm.

"Yeah, that!" Nami said, snapping her fingers. "What was all that?! Did she eat some kind of devil fruit?"

"If only it were that simple," Roronoa sighed. "She was using a fighting style called Rokushiki. It allows a user to reach the peak of their physical capability and become a superhuman."

"The style itself is most commonly used by a government black-ops known as Cipher Pol Number 9, or CP9 for short," Robin added. "We've faced them before. It's a future event, so sorry, Captain."

Luffy waved it off. "It's fine. Until we get our nakama back, you can tell me anything about the future as long as it helps."

This was a strong indicator that Luffy was getting serious- he was even relaxing his own gag order. The crew, as they listened, weren't sure if this was a good thing or not. Hopefully, it was.

"She claimed she knew 'that pigeon freak,' and mentioned Kaku," Lysopp remembered. "She probably used to be part of the team, or at least trained to be part of it at one time considering we didn't see her back then."

"Hold on," Vivi broke in. "I've heard of Cipher Pol, but there are only eight units."

"CP9 doesn't officially exist," Robin explained. "It gives the government more elbow room to have their dirty work done that way."

"I'm not surprised Erity is so strong," Tony said anxiously. "CP9 was tough. I was only able to defeat one of its members after going Monster Point."

Chopper whimpered at the thought of his vicious transformation. Did this mean he would have to go Monster Point if the need came?

"Wait a minute- Nami, did you say Erity could walk on air?" Vivi suddenly said.

"Yeah. I thought I had been seeing things intially," Nami answered. "Why?"

"Because Future Sanji did that back in the cavern! He set his leg on fire then jumped into the air and stayed there!"

Nami gaped. "EH?!"

"I learn to fly in the future?!" Sanji exclaimed in shock. "And I learn how to do the flaming-leg technique?!"

Roronoa gave Sanji a curious look. "You've already thought of Diable Jambe?"

"Is that what I end up calling it? Catchy." Sanji put in his hands in his pockets. "Jealous, Mosshead? Yeah, it was a nutty idea I had not long after Little Garden, after I heard how you guys got out of Mr. 3's wax trap. But I never took it seriously. I actually get it to work, Vivi-chan?!"

Vivi frowned, recalling the heartless attack on Mr. Bushido. "Yes... you most definitely get it to work."

"That sounds awesome, Sanji!" Chopper shouted. "I want to learn how to fly!"

"Once I get my Sanji back, I'll ask him to teach me!" Tony told his younger self.

Sanji grinned widely in excitement. "Aw man, I can't wait to learn all that and rub it in the crappy geezer's face! Hey, think I could charm the lovely Erity into teaching me that air-walking technique?"

"Sanji! Erity almost killed us!" Nami scolded him.

"I know, Nami-swan- and I'm positive you'll get your entirely justified retribution- but come on, so did Robin-chan!" He gestured to her. "And look at her now!"

Robin smiled, but it was tight. "I find it fair to point out I never actively tried to kill any of you."

"That's what makes you a good person, Robin!" Luffy told her. "Right?"

Robin raised an eyebrow, then smiled. "Of course, Captain."

Vivi crossed her arms and looked away, but she didn't scowl this time.

Roronoa moved up next to Sanji. "If you need the enemy in order to get stronger, then you're more pathetic than I thought, Swirls."

"Put a sock in it, Algae Brains! I bet my older self could kick your crappy ass any day of the week!"

"Yet my younger self could kick your ass any time of day!"

Lysopp sighed as another Sanji-Zoro fight began (at least this appeared to be strictly verbal), then turned to Chopper. "How long has it been since their last fight?"

"A couple hours," Chopper answered dutifully.

"That's a new record." Lysopp clapped his hands. "Alright, that's enough! I think we got a bit off-topic! Robin, can you tell us anything else about Erity?"

"Unfortunately, no. I'm afraid she's the wild card in the lieutenants," Robin said. "While the others have long careers in hunting, she only came on the scene about a year and a half ago, so there's little to no information about her. Aside from a few completely irrelevant rumors about her private life, I know little about her myself- I didn't even know about her and CP9. She hadn't even made a name for herself when she joined the Carrion Bounty Hunters."

"Seriously?" Lysopp said. "She's what, thirty? That's a wee bit old for a lady to want to start bounty hunting."

Robin narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm thirty."

Lysopp had violent flashbacks of the last time he insinuated Robin was old. He held up his hands in a placating manner. "And you look gorgeous!"

"You got that right~!" Sanji added lovingly before getting serious. "Robin, back when we faced Erity in the woods, and going off of what Lysopp told us about his first encounter with her, it seems like she knows me, or at least my older self. Know anything about that?"

"I can't say. There is one possibility for where she could know you from..." Robin trailed off for a moment. "... however, I doubt your older self would appreciate me spreading that around."

Sanji blinked, puzzled. "Excuse me?"

A charge ran down Roronoa, Lysopp, and Tony's spines. Was it possible... that Robin knew what Sanji did for training these last two years? (Of course she did, this was Robin.) Dang it, they couldn't even ask her because asking in their past selves' presence went against the relaxed gag order parameters!

Robin could tell her fellow future pirates had their thoughts running a mile a minute. Yes, it was best she didn't spread that around. There was no guarantee Erity would have the same altruistic impulse to preserve Sanji's dignity. They would have to wait and see.

Erity... Robin thought. What is it you want, I wonder...?

---

Location: Bounty Hunter Camp, mess tent

"I want you to blink... now," Erity commanded. She stomped her foot in frustration. "Blink, damn you!"

The Future Sanji did not blink. He just stood there in the center of the mess tent, useless as a piece of driftwood.

"Arggh!" Erity yelled in aggravation. She went back to stirring the pork soup that simmered on the portable stove.

"Stupid Runo," she mumbled. She spoke in her best imitation of him. "'I figure since he's a chef, he could help you!' Well, Runo, he can't exactly help me if he's so entranced that he barely even knows he has a name, let alone that he's a chef!"

Erity wasn't sure if Runo was truly the source of her aggravation (he was at least 90% of the time, so it was a valid query). It couldn't be because of Future... well, her time's Sanji, could it?

"It bugs me," she confessed aloud. "You weren't meant to stand quietly like a emotionless toy, Sanji-lolly. This whole... hypnotized thing creeps me out. More so than usual. You're meant to jump and kick and curse and call me and my sisters denizens of Hell."

To think, the younger Sanji actually referred to her as lovely. He had been the first to ever do so. That's irony for you. Sanji-lolly, the future one, had known what she was almost immediately, even if he didn't know who exactly.

Erity replaced the lid on the pot, then strutted over to the hypnotized chef. She reached into his pocket and removed his box of cigarettes, slid one loose, and placed it in her mouth. She then lit it with Sanji-lolly's fancy gold lighter. In reality she wasn't much of smoker, but she felt like she needed it at times. Vaughan was the very same- she wouldn't be surprised if she walked into his tent and found him smoking a few cancer sticks himself.

After taking a few drags, her teal eyes glanced at the young pirate. To think, the last time she'd seen this punk was nearly two years ago. She never would have thought their next meeting would be as hunter and prey, if they were to have a next meeting at all.

She chuckled. The last time she saw him...

"You're a glutton for punishment, aren't you?" she said, grinding the heel of her boot into his head. "This is, like, the fifth time I've had you eating dirt this month, Sanji-lolly. No one would blame you if you gave up."

"Shut up, you crappy freak of nature," Sanji snarled. "I'm not giving up."

"Why? I don't get you. How can someone fail as much as you have in the time you've been here and still come back for more? Did I knock something loose the last time I kicked you?"

"Shut up!" Sanji barked, pushing against her weight. "I said I'm not giving up and that's that!"

"But why?" she whined. "I really want to know so I don't have to keep bruising your pretty face."

"BECAUSE MY CREW IS OUT THERE GETTING STRONGER, AND I REFUSE TO LET A SINGLE ONE OF THEM DOWN BY FAILING!" He paused. "AND I AM NOT PRETTY!"

"Pfft." Erity patted Sanji-lolly's shoulder. "You are so, so pretty. In total denial, but so pretty."

"And here I thought you did not like younger men."

Erity startled, then turned to glare at the entrance to the mess tent. There stood Yari, the corner of her mouth turned upward in ridicule.

The older woman scoffed. "I don't. Anyway, what are you doing here? I'm not giving you anything before dinner is ready."

"Relax, I am not here for any handouts." Yari gestured to Sanji. "I am just here to collect Black Leg. Is that allowed?"

Erity exhaled some smoke before dropping the barely-used cigarette and rubbing it into the ground with her shoe. "Go right on ahead. The only thing he's good for right now is a coat rack, which I don't need."

Yari shrugged and walked over to the pirate chef. She frowned, thinking critically. "... They are interesting, are they not?"

"Who?"

"Pirates. The bonds they create and the goals they share. You should have seen how Pirate Hunter reacted to me dressing up Cat Burglar. I thought he was going to blow a blood vessel. Not all the pirates I have faced over the years were so close, but these Straw Hats definitely are."

Erity thought back to Sanji. The guy definitely loved his crew. The Straw Hats were practically a family- not all crews were like that.

"You're not the type to care about friendship and junk, Yari," Erity said, walking over to the pot of soup and going back to stirring it. "Aren't you the kind of person who sees friendship as a weakness?"

"Yes, but a number of pirates I have encountered were quite taken with the concept. They act like the magic of friendship can lead them to the One Piece. It is ridiculous, but I find it interesting." Yari glanced Erity. "Tell me, did you ever fancy the idea of finding the One Piece? I know Runo and I entertained the notion when we were young. I am sure every child does."

"Why would I want to be Pirate King? That's a death wish for myself and anyone I plan to marry someday. We all know what happened to Fire Fist." Erity tasted her soup, narrowed her eyes, then added some spice. "Besides, I was six when that execution happened. I was living on the streets in a rinky-dink town on a rinky-dink island in the middle of the South Blue. I was little busy with trying to survive to think about claiming a treasure that may or may not exist."

"You are on a magic time island currently trying to find a treasure that 'may or may not exist,'" Yari reminded her.

"True, but I'm getting paid for it." Erity chuckled. "So I'll just leave the One Piece to guys like Straw Hat and Sanji-lolly. They have the drive and more of a chance than I ever will."

Not only that, she thought. But I have my own dreams to accomplish once this is over, just as Sanji-lolly does. I hope he gets his chance to fulfill them.

Yari rolled her eyes, stopped mid-roll, then frowned in realization. "... You were six when Gold Roger was executed?"

"Yeah, give or take a year," Erity replied affirmatively. "Why?"

"Roger was executed twenty-four years ago," Yari said. "No wonder you are not married yet. If you were six at the time, that would make you thir-"

The swordswoman was cut off as an airborne soup ladle smacked her right in the center of her forehead.

"OW!" she cried out. She clutched her forehead. "Why?! Why do people always go for my face?!"

"GET OUT OF MY MESS TENT!" Erity shrieked.

---

Back with the Straw Hats...

"Hey, I thought of something we can use against Erity!" Nami shouted. "Remember back in the jungle when Vaughan implied she was old? She completely flipped out! I bet we can use that as a distraction." She struck a sultry pose. "Serves her right for breaking my staff and insulting me back in the jungle. My boobs are not grossly swollen. She's clearly just jealous of a gorgeous young thing like me."

"You're the epitome of beauty, Nami-swaaaaan~!" Sanji declared, happily spinning around. "Of course an old hag like her would be jealous!"

Robin glared at him, and Vivi snickered. Sanji appeared to have forgotten Robin and Erity were almost the same age.

"Anyway, you can use it to make her lose her head in a fight, and then rescue the crew!" Nami went on.

"Or you could make her so angry that she'll stop at nothing to deprive you of your manhood," Lysopp pointed out quietly to Nami. "I know that's what happened when she started chasing me."

The men of the group suddenly stared at Lysopp in horror and sympathy.

"She didn't succeed!" Lysopp explained hurriedly, blushing. "I mean, seriously!"

The menfolk all sighed in relief. With that misunderstanding having been dealt with, the pirates continued their journey, moving into even more mountainous terrain. They were stopping to climb up small cliffs nearly every five minutes. (Oddly enough, the sun still had yet to fully set.)

"Geez, Robin, how did you get around these parts?" Tony asked. He was in Walk Point and climbing like a mountain goat, while his younger self remained in Brain Point and rode on his back.

Robin smiled and made an extra pair of arms bloom from her elbows. "I had plenty of handholds."

Chopper looked down at his own hooves. He wondered what it would be like to be able to grow extra limbs whenever he wanted. He could perform surgery all by himself, with extra hands holding all the instruments he needed! He smiled to himself. He was glad he joined this crew. The members, especially his future ones, were all so nice, not to mention they had amazing abilities-

Chopper inhaled sharply. He remembered something. "... Guys? Do you think we should know what the future crewmates can do along with the hunters?"

Everyone looked sharply at the younger reindeer, making him feel uncomfortable.

"What do you mean, Tony?" Vivi asked gently.

"It's just... Runo used Future Sanji and Franky to attack your group," Chopper continued timidly. "He'll probably do it again. And Lysopp said there's a chance those of us from the past will have to fight, so maybe-"

"No," Luffy interrupted sharply. "I don't want to know my crew can do in the future, because we're not going to fight them. We'll leave them to the rest of the future crew."

"But-" Chopper began.

"You guys said you all had to fight Chopper-ossan when he was hypnotized and didn't cause any damage until Zoro-ossan got involved. It's the same with the hunters- we're not fighting them unless we have to, but I want all of our time's crew to avoid them the most. Okay?"

Everyone stared at Luffy, then all nodded in response.

Luffy nodded slowly back, then looked at Robin. "I guess next on the hunter list is...?"

Robin's composed herself from Luffy's outburst, then her expression became grim. "Enoch Vaughan. He's going to be a hassle, that's for sure."

The rubberman scowled, recalling his fight with the red-eyed man. Nami and Lysopp shuddered- they remembered when they first encountered him. They could still feel their blood hardening as he lifted them up by their blood vessels.

"As I'm sure you've already figured out, he ate the Blood Blood Fruit, making him a blood-manipulation man. It's a nasty yet versatile ability. Crocodile actually did want to recruit him, but we could never find a way to contact him. He seems to be the type of man who can't be found when he doesn't want to be."

"He said he saw us on Sabaody two years ago," Roronoa said with venom.

Robin winced. "Yes, I'd heard Sabaody was his stomping ground for a number of years. He was known as 'Blood King' in those days, due to both his abilities and his efficiency in capturing bounties. He has devil fruit powers, can use Observation and Armament Haki, knows hand-to-hand combat, and is a skilled sniper and swordsman. He has nearly all his bases covered, which is why he is so good at what he does. Some associates I made in the last two years held an interest in him, and as far as I've heard, he alone has turned in over 200 bounties since he first began hunting at age twenty one."

Everyone's mouths dropped in awe. Vaughan had stated he was twenty seven- he'd turned in that many bounties in just six years, even with the Carrion Bounty Hunters?

"Armament Haki?" Nami questioned, shaking off her shock.

"That's the second form of Haki, also known as Busoshoku Haki. It creates this armor on your body that increases the power of your attacks," Roronoa answered. He held out his fist, and to the past Straw hat's further surprise, it turned shiny and black. "It just happens to be my specialty."

"Vampire Guy did that! Along with predicting my attacks, he made his rifle and hands all shiny too!" Luffy said, grabbing Roronoa's fist to examine it. "Then he hit me and it hurt! My rubber body didn't bounce it back like it should have!"

Roronoa took his fist back and the black faded into ordinary skin.

"That's why Busoshoku Haki is a preferred form of Haki," Robin said. "It also allows the user to bypass devil fruit abilities. When a Haki user punches you, you may as well be an ordinary human."

"You can counter it with your own Haki, but it has to be stronger than your opponents'," Roronoa added.

"So it's another mystery ability!" Luffy decided.

"As if you guys weren't inhuman enough," Lysopp said enviously to Roronoa, Sanji, and Luffy. "I would kill to have Haki."

"Everyone has it, but not everyone can awaken it," Tony said. "Our Sanji told us that, remember? Maybe you just haven't awoken yours yet."

Sanji smiled. His future self had the ability to use Haki? He bet it was stronger than Mosshead's.

Luffy thought back to his grandfather. Did he have this mystery Haki? If he did, that would explain his Fist of Love... wait, did Nami have Haki? Was that why she was able to hit him all the time?

"It sounds like Vaughan is an advanced user if he can utilize Haki so easily," Robin observed. "Not surprising, considering his life before he became a bounty hunter."

"What was he before he was a bounty hunter?" Vivi asked.

"A Rear Admiral."

At the sound of the simple, casual statement, the group- save for Robin, Luffy, and Carue (who caught Vivi)- all tripped over their own feet. They were fortunate enough not to go tumbling over a nearby cliff. Then a moment later, they stood erect in sheer terror.

"A REAR ADMIRAL?!" Tony and Chopper squealed.

"That nutcase was a marine?!" Sanji and Roronoa hollered, too startled to realize they had spoken in unison.

"A high-ranking marine?!" Lysopp, Vivi, and Nami squeaked in terror.

"Yes. He entered the marines when he was sixteen and quickly rose through the ranks." Robin suddenly smiled and crossed her arms. "From what I've heard, he was trained at Marine HQ, directly under Vice Admiral Garp."

Luffy paled comically.

"As in Garp the Fist?!" Nami yelled. "That's the guy who used to hunt down Gold Roger! Vaughan was trained by him?!"

Garp... Lysopp, Roronoa, and Tony all thought. That explains a lot...

Vivi noticed Luffy's new paleness, and that he was shaking. "Luffy? Are you alright? You look like you're going to be sick."

Carue nudged the pirate captain with his bill.

"I'm fine..." Luffy said weakly. "Can we just stop talking about the Fist...?"

Is Luffy afraid of Vice Admiral Garp? Vivi thought- and what an weird thought it was. Vivi didn't think Luffy was afraid of anything. She glanced at Robin. Did she bring him up on purpose...?

"Of course, Captain," Robin said with a giggle. "Anyway, Vaughan was an extremely successful marine. He was decorated many times for his skills and completion of missions. Pirates everywhere feared his name. In fact, during those days he was known under a different epithet- Enoch 'Bloodbath' Vaughan.

"BLOODBATH?!" Lysopp, Nami, Vand the two reindeer all cried out in horror.

"He was famous for shedding disproportionate amounts of blood in battle," Robin said in a chipper voice. "Though strangely enough, he never once killed anyone. He turned in all his bounties alive as well. Rumor is that he's morally against killing."

"Then why did he try to kill me?" Roronoa asked.

"Maybe you just caught him on a bad day," Robin suggested. "Or maybe he never intended to kill you in the first place."

Roronoa grunted in response.

Luffy frowned. Vampire Guy didn't want to kill Zoro-ossan? Then what was with the tranquilizers and his attitude back during their fight? On the other hand... Vaughan had beaten him to a bloody mess and taunted him, but he gave him food and a lot of what he said turned out to be good advice. It was almost as if... had Vaughan been teaching him in a way? This was confusing and made Luffy's head hurt. Maybe he could ask Vampire Guy next time he saw him, once they got their nakama back.

"Then the guy gets the 'Not as Big a Jerk as You Could Be' award," Sanji snarked. He hadn't forgotten what Vaughan did to Nami. "If this bastard was such a hot-shot marine, then why is he a lowly bounty hunter now?"

"That's the mystery. Now long after he gained his promotion to Rear Admiral, he resigned from the Navy," Robin replied. "That was the same year he became a bounty hunter. Nobody knows why."

"The marines are hypocritical scum," Roronoa snorted. "Maybe he just realized that and left."

Robin shrugged. "Your guess is as good as any, Roronoa. What's important is that he's here now and he's the strongest of the four lieutenants. From what you've seen and told me, he can turn blood into weaponry and even control it while it's still in the human body. You will most likely be the one to fight him, so start strategizing."

Roronoa gave his signature shark grin and actually drew Shusui. "I owe the red-eyed freak a duel anyway. I intend to show him just how much I've progressed since Sabaody."

At the mention of the Archipelago, the past Straw Hats noticed the Future Straw Hats had grown grim- well, more grim than they currently were.

Sabaody had been mentioned before, and apparently it was a touchy subject for their older counterparts. Just what was this place like?

---

Location: Bounty Hunter Camp, Vaughan's tent

It was times like these he missed good ole' Sabaody Archipelago.

Vaughan shrugged off his coat and leaned back on his cot, exhaling cigarette smoke. Now that was a thought he never thought he'd have. Sabaody was a cesspool of corruption, hypocrisy, and immorality, and he pretty much hated it. That, however, didn't change the fact it had been his home for four years. Plus, things were so simple there. Catch a filthy pirate, go drinking, blow money on slave liberation, avoid the Tenryubitto, catch another filthy pirate... it was all routine and basic. It was perfect for a bounty hunter who liked fighting but didn't want to make the effort to go looking for those fights, such as himself.

Vaughan put his arms behind his head and sighed to himself. "And yet... I just gave it all up for Carrion."

The Carrion Bounty Hunters... they were simple in their own way, but not to the degree of Sabaody. Carrion wanted the Star, Erity wanted to help Carrion for whatever reason, and the twins just wanted to get paid and fight strong enemies. He didn't count the rest of the lackeys- to Vaughan, they were just cannon fodder that got in his way much too often. Now that he thought about it, he didn't even like his team that much (except maybe Erity. She was fun to argue with). He'd only suggested they join the hunters to Carrion due to their skills. Yari was creepy and conceited, Runo was creepy and psychotic, Erity was whiny and short-tempered, and Carrion...

... Carrion was Carrion. That was a good enough reason in of itself. The man had decent leadership and strategic skills, but it was no surprise why he got tossed out of the Navy besides his less-than-ethical actions. The man was blood-thirsty (even by the Navy's standards) and power-hungry. The only reason he even wanted the Star and Straw Hat was to suck up to his former superiors and get his job back, plus interest. It was all about status and power with that guy- a trait not uncommon within the Navy. It was one of the many, many reasons Vaughan left in the first place.

Vaughan frowned, coated his fingerless-gloved hand with Haki, then crushed his cigarette in his palm. He'd be lying if he said he didn't miss the Navy, if only a little. For all it's faults, it hadn't been that bad. He grown stronger with them and made a number of friends. He missed them, he missed the challenges presented, heck, he even missed old man Garp-

The red-eyed man froze.

"You think just because you've had prior training you have what it takes to be a marine?!" Garp yelled, ramming his fist into sixteen-year-old Vaughan's gut. "Think again!"

Vaughan went flying into the courtyard wall. His body didn't know how to react- whether to pass out from the pain or to throw up everything he'd eaten that day. It eventually chose neither option, for Vaughan pulled himself free and ran towards the Vice Admiral. With all of his strength, he threw a wild Haki-coated haymaker right towards his face...

... only for Garp to catch it with ease.

"Oh, crap," Vaughan whispered.

"HA! You call that a punch?! I know two snot-nosed punks in the East Blue who hit better than you, without Haki!" Garp squeezed the younger man's fist and reared back his free hand. "Prepare yourself for a drastic reeducation, Enoch!"

Garp's fist impacted, and Vaughan knew only blackness.

"... Okay, maybe that last one's a bit of a stretch," Vaughan muttered to himself. "And looking back, those 'two snot-nosed punks' must have been Straw Hat and his brother. That's disappointing."

Wait, what had been his original thought?

... Oh, right, giving up life on Sabaody for Carrion.

Well, it was a hell of time to start regretting that decision- the Carrion part, not the 'leaving Sabaody' part. He'd already made the decision to leave Sabaody, but perhaps joining up with the first moron who wanted to locate the lost island hadn't been the best of plans, even if it had proved fruitful in the end.

I'm really here, he thought. I'm on Time Island... on Kāla.

He'd been on the island for more than a day, and yet the idea was still a novel one. Part of him wondered if this was just a weird booze-induced dream, but his senses confirmed it wasn't (besides, he hadn't had a drink since before he joined the Carrion Bounty Hunters). After all these years, he'd finally found it.

Vaughan's hand went to his chest, where the pendent of his medallion rested. He squeezed the cold metal tightly

To think, there was a time where I had given up, he thought. Ugh, Bhanu would have given me the beating of a lifetime for that. If there was one thing he hated, it was a quitter. He taught me that one the hard way. Vaughan chuckled. He was almost as bad as Garp in his teachings... almost.

But the past was irrelevant. The time was fast approaching to put the final stages of his plan into action, and then at long last, his family's duty would be put to rest. He would be free... as would Siobhan.

"... Yeesh," Vaughan said aloud. "Here I am laying down in my tent, in the dark, contemplating my life. I must be finally getting old."

"You know, talking to yourself is the first sign of insanity. I told the younger Cat Burglar that one earlier."

Vaughan darted his eyes to his tent's large opening. Erity stood there with her arms crossed, smirking at him.

Man, she looks like Shakky when she does that. He sighed. "What do you want, hag?"

Erity twitched, but for once she didn't react. "I just decided to be a nice person and tell you dinner was ready. You coming or what?"

"Fine, give me a minute."

Vaughan sat up and swung his legs over the side of his cot, showing his bare back to the mohawked woman. Almost immediately, he heard her gasp.

"WHAT IN THE NAME OF MAIDENHOOD HAPPENED TO YOUR BACK?!" she shrieked in horror, pointing.

Vaughan winced. That's right, he'd taken off his coat and he never wore a shirt. This was the first time she was seeing his back uncovered.

Erity's eyes threatened to pop out of their sockets. Vaughan's back was a mural of thick, yellow, red, and black third-degree-burn scars. They covered most of his back, stretching from beneath his shoulders to just above the small of his back. They looked old and painful.

Vaughan stood up and and stretched his arms. "When I was seven, my village was attacked by pirates. My house caught fire and burning debris ended up falling on me. My uncle managed to get me out, but he couldn't do anything about my back."

"... Do they hurt? The scars, I mean."

"They used to, but it's been awhile."

Erity supposed this was the reason Vaughan didn't like pirates. She shuddered and recrossed her arms. "With your back looking like that, I'm surprised you don't make more of an effort to hide them. Aside from your red jacket, you rarely wear a shirt."

Vaughan scoffed and put on said red jacket. "The scars aren't going anywhere, and I refuse to go the extra mile to hide them just for other people's comfort." He turned to face her and pounded a fist against his muscled chest. "Besides, a real man shows what he's got."

Erity chuckled. "Who gave you that pearl of wisdom?"

"Same uncle who pulled my rear out of the fire. Literally."

"I'd like to meet this guy, he sounds like a riot." Erity pointed to Vaughan's face. "While we're talking scars, mind telling me how you got that one on your cheek?"

All humor faded from Vaughan's expression, it becoming guarded and cold. "Don't you have dinner to take care of?"

O-kay, clearly not something he wants to talk about, the older woman thought. "Whatever. Just get to the mess tent before Runo gets there and eats it all."

Vaughan scowled, then walked over to a corner of his tent and picked up his rifle. He slung it over his shoulder, paused, then slung a broadsword over the opposite shoulder.

"Why are you bringing weapons to the mess tent?" Erity said with mild exasperation.

"Hey, like the boss said, it's only a matter of time before Straw Hat stages a rescue. The guy kind of has a rep for being unpredictable." The scarred man gripped the hilt of his sword. "It doesn't hurt to be prepared."

"If you say so, Enoch. Come and get your food." With that, Erity turned on her heel and walked out of the tent.

Once she was gone, Vaughan knelt down and opened one of his wooden chests. He removed a metal flask and slipped it into one of his pants' numerous pockets. He then stood up and started to exit his tent.

Wait...

Vaughan looked down at his medallion. The eye engraved on its pendant stared back up at him.

He quickly lifted the medallion from his neck and slipped it into a pocket on the inside of his jacket.

There, he thought. It's better I hide that for now. I can't have Siobhan seeing it just yet. She might recognize it. No sense in ruining everything when I've come this far.

Seeing as everything was taken care of, Vaughan left his tent. From what he could smell, Erity had made her famous pork soup. Letting that go to waste would be just plain criminal.

---

Back with the Straw Hats...

"Vampire Guy was such a huge jerk," Luffy grumbled. "His medallion was pretty cool though. And he gave me food."

"As Whiskey Peak proved, just because someone gives you food doesn't make them good people," Vivi pointed out.

"I know, I know. I still wanna see my older self beat him up."

"Then hopefully we'll find him once we rescue our comrades," Robin said. "We could really use him right about now."

They were getting pretty close to the camp now. According to Robin and Nami, they just had one more formation to cross. And it was just in time too- the sun appeared to finally be making its full descent into the sky.

"Does anyone else wonder what our Luffy is even doing right now?" Lysopp said as he edged along the narrow path the group was taking. "I mean, it wouldn't the first time he dropped off the radar for a period of time, but still."

"This is Luffy we're talking about," Tony said. "He has a habit of showing up right when we need him. Who knows, maybe he'll come during our rescue mission!"

"That would be awesome!" the present Luffy declared.

"He better show up," Roronoa growled. "And when he does, I'm knocking him upside the head for getting so freaking lost."

"As if you're one to talk?" Nami said with irritation.

"Shut up, witch!"

"Don't talk to Nami dear like that!" Sanji bellowed. "Apologize!"

"Make me!" Roronoa barked.

"That's enough of that!" Vivi scolded them. "This path is very narrow and the last thing we need is someone falling off due to a dumb argument!"

"Quaw!" Carue agreed.

They moved along in silence for a few more minutes before someone else spoke up.

"Do you think Future Luffy is okay? What if he got captured too?" Choppered asked worriedly.

"If he was captured, then Runo would have undoubtedly bragged about it," Lysopp answered bitterly. "Luffy can take care of himself. Wherever he is, he's fine... it's the crewmates who got captured in the cavern I'm worried about."

Sanji snarled. "What? What about Future Nami? She was hypnotized by Runo!"

"So were Mr. Franky and your future self," Vivi reminded him.

"And me!" Tony added.

"They're fine- I doubt Runo would let anything happen to his precious 'toys.' But who knows what he and the other lieutenants are doing to Brook, my younger self, and Zoro," Lysopp explained. "Their boss obviously wants our bounties very badly, so he might make his cronies do anything and everything to keep them from escaping or fighting back."

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Luffy said suddenly. "I know we talked about him a little earlier, but, Robin, do you know anything else about their Boss? Rotten Meat?"

"You mean Carrion." Robin shook her head. "I'm sorry, but besides what I've already told you, I know nothing about him. He doesn't actively hunt bounties like the lieutenants or the lesser members, so there's no information on his abilities. He was a Rear Admiral for a number years, but he was on the level of a Vice Admiral. That means he at least knows some form of Haki. A marine can't be promoted to that rank unless they do."

If that's the case, then Grandpa definitely has Haki, Luffy thought with a shiver. "So.. we shouldn't fight him then."

"He's more of a wild card than Erity. That would be our wisest option since our primary goal is to get our friends then get out."

"Right." Luffy noticed some of his crewmates had dismal looks on their faces. "Come on, guys, it'll be okay! Our friends are strong, even those from the past, just like Zoro-ossan said! I bet they won't even need that much help escaping! Robin said that Cantaloupe-"

"Siobhan," Chopper corrected.

"- girl was also in the camp. Maybe they're together and sharing pirate stories! You know, the ones who aren't hypnotized, since I don't think hypnotized people can tell stories."

It was a happy thought, Luffy's crew conceded, but an unlikely one. You had to be some level of stupid to put four prisoners with the potential to escape together in the same area.

---

Location: Center of the Carrion Bounty Hunter Base Camp

"... and that's the story of how I, the brave Captain Usopp, singlehandedly defeated the rogues of Whiskey Peak and became the lord of the Sea Kings," Usopp wrapped up his story with flourish.

Siobhan stared blankly at him as she sat crosslegged in her cage, her chin resting in one hand while the other drummed its fingers on her knee. After a moment of consideration she gave her response to Usopp's story.

"Liar."

"HOW DID YOU KNOW?!"

"I'M GONNA KNOW IF YOU TELL ME!"

Usopp slumped over in dejection while the skeleton next to him patted his knee (being tied up, it was the best he could do).

"If it's any consolation, Usopp-san, I found your story to be rather entertaining," Brook said encouragingly.

"I did too, even if it was a lie," Siobhan agreed. She smiled at Brook. "I still liked yours better, Bones."

Usopp snapped back upright. "Yeah, me too actually. I still can't believe you were part of the crew that left Laboon at Reverse Mountain! I had no idea Crocus had his facts so wrong!"

At Crocus's name, Siobhan twitched. No, it couldn't be...

"Thank you both. You especially for believing me, Usopp-san."

The sniper shrugged as best as he could, being chained to a pole and all. "Eh, you're one of the crew. I was a little skeptical at first, but I have no reason not to believe you after all we've been through so far."

"Your words warm my heart... though I no longer have one! Yohohoho!"

Siobhan laughed along with him. "Hahahaha! Good one!"

"Please don't encourage him," Usopp pleaded.

Siobhan stopped laughing and crossed her arms, grinning. "Welp, a deal's a deal. You told me your pirate stories, so feel free to ask me about anything you might want to know about this place."

"Excellent!" Usopp said. "This one has really been bugging me. Just how does this island travel in time in space?"

Siobhan's grin became a deadpan look. "How the heck am I supposed to know?"

Usopp face-faulted. "You live here!"

The younger girl scowled and looked at Brook. "Bones, tell me something. You live on a ship with grass growing on its deck, right? How does that work?"

Brook thought that over. "... You know, I have no idea. I never asked Franky-san, I suppose."

"My point exactly." Siobhan turned back to Usopp. "Just because I live here doesn't mean I know everything about it. Besides, I stopped wondering how the time travel thing worked ages ago. It was a waste of brainpower trying to figure it out. So if that's your way of asking why two versions of your crew are on this island, I got nothing for you."

"Weren't you the one bragging about your plethora of information earlier?" the sniper snarked.

"As I have been told many times, nobody likes a smartass. Ask another question."

Brook sensed the tension, so he decided to break the ice a little. "You have a very interesting name, and not just your surname. 'Siobhan' is an Northern Blue name, and from your attire, I doubt you're from there."

"Not really a question, but I'll do my best," the redhead girl said. "You're right, I'm from the West Blue. The day I was born, an ambassador was visiting my village. As a show of peace, my father allowed the ambassador to pick my first name- apparently he named me after his old aunt who lived in the northern sea or something. As for my surname, in my tribe we were given unique ones based off of traits we exhibit as kids."

"And the one they gave you was 'Piranha'?" Brook inquired.

"Yup."

"That's just silly," Usopp said. He lifted his foot and prodded Siobhan's cage with it. "You're a little annoying, but why would they give a cute little girl such a ferocious surname-"

Usopp was interrupted by Siobhan pushing her head between the bars of her cage and clamping down on his ankle. Hard.

"AIEEEEEEEE!" Usopp squealed. "OKAYOKAYYOU'VEMADEYOURPOINTLETGO!"

Siobhan held on for a few more seconds, but obliged. Usopp now had a bite mark on his ankle. It even bled a tiny bit.

"That'd better not scar..." Usopp whimpered.

Siobhan spat out blood. "Any more questions?"

"Hmm, oh, yes, I have one!" Brook replied nervously. "What can you tell us about the treasure hidden on this island?"

"Why, do you want it?"

"No, but the Carrion Bounty Hunters do. They must have a reason, because I doubt they would go this far for just gold and jewels."

Siobhan frowned. She wasn't sure if she should tell them. While these two were far more trustworthy than Carrion and his men... no, she couldn't do it. It was the same situation as whether or not to tell Bloom Woman about the Greater Ruins. She just couldn't risk it. Thankfully, she was a much better liar than Fish Lips.

"Believe it or not, that's another thing I don't know," she lied in false frustration. "All I know is that it was sealed somewhere on this island- not that I know where- for being too dangerous, and they left me in charge of protecting it."

"Now I have a question," Usopp spoke up, ignoring his pained ankle. "Who in their right mind would leave a young girl alone on an island to guard it? You're twelve, right? You said earlier you've lived here for three years, so that means you've been here since you were nine. That's messed up."

Siobhan smirked. "Don't underestimate me. I was chosen for this honor because I was the strongest in my village. We of the Saṅkalpa are warriors born!"

"I'll take your word for it, but still, doesn't it get lonely being here all by yourself?" Usopp asked, a little concerned for the girl.

Brook looked solemn. "I was alone for fifty years. I was sick to death of it- though I was already dead- after just one year."

Siobhan's eyes widened.

"You're the guardian of this island's treasure, are you not?" Carrion asked, managing to sound polite. "If I took it off your hands and left it's protection to the World Government, you could finally leave this place. You could find a new home and wouldn't have to be all alone on this small island. Isn't that you want? Isn't that what every lonely person wants?"

"Siobhan, I'm not gonna lie to you. You're a great kid and you have a lot potential. In addition, I don't like the idea of you staying on this island alone," Captain-sama said, ruffling her hair. "So hows about you join my crew? My cabin boys are fond of you and so am I. No one should be alone if they can help it."

"... Why do they always ask that?" Siobhan whispered to herself.

Usopp leaned forward to hear better. "Pardon?"

"Nothing!" the gold-eyed girl answered hurriedly. "As for your question, yeah, I get lonely sometimes but it's not so bad! This place always gets tons of visitors from every sea and time! Why, just last week I was visited by this very nice pirate crew. Captain-sama had a lot of stories and his cabin boys played with me!"

"Captain-sama?" Brook echoed.

"Oh, that was my nickname for the pirate captain... actually, I originally called him Grinner, because he had this really big smile. But he earned my respect so I changed it. And then that got Specs, Spaz, and Straw Hat in my face because they wanted new nicknames-"

"Straw Hat?!" Brook and Usopp shouted in unison.

Siobhan blinked, then chuckled. "That's right, that's your captain's epithet, isn't it. Well, I'm talking about one of Captain-sama's cabin boys. He wore this ratty old straw hat, so that was my nickname for him. I try not to go for the overly obvious, so I chose to focus on the hat."

"What was so obvious about him?" Usopp asked blandly.

Siobhan pointed to her head. "His hair. It was the exact same color as mine! I wouldn't be surprised if he had some Saṅkalpa blood in him! Anyway, at the end of the day I decided 'Straw Hat" was a much better nickname than 'Red Hair.'"

On those last two words, Usopp and Brook's eyes (or the latter's would have if he had eyes) widened in realization.

Wait a minute... Brook thought.

Red hair... Usopp thought.

Straw hat... Brook thought.

A cabin boy, at least at that point in his life... Usopp thought.

And I'm fairly certain she recognized Crocus-san's name when Usopp-san mentioned it... Brook thought.

The two pirates' thought merged.

Is she talking about-?!

"You three look like you're having fun."

The three prisoners heads all snapped to the left, just in time to see an approaching Vaughan. He was holding a bowl of soup and was in the middle of taking a bite.

"Blood Eyes! Where have you been?" Siobhan said in sarcastic joy. "You never call, you never write- one might think you're avoiding me."

"Siobhan, you are like death and taxes- completely unavoidable." Vaughan took another sip of soup. "But I didn't come here to continue our witty repartee. The boss told me that as soon as the sun went down, I had to return you to the tent."

Siobhan, Brook, and Usopp all looked up. Sure enough, the sun had gone down and the sky was now pitch black, filled with glittering stars. The moon was barely a sliver, on the verge of being a new moon. They had been so caught up in their conversation that they hadn't even noticed.

"Really?" Siobhan complained. "Alright, fine." She turned to face Brook and Usopp. "I guess I'll see you two later- you know, assuming Carrion doesn't make good on his threat to kill me."

"Don't worry, I won't let him," Vaughan assured her. "I'd hate for the world to lose such a great conversationalist."

"Haha. Just take me to the tent, Blood Eyes."

Vaughan tossed his empty bowl aside and effortlessly lifted up Siobhan's cage, balancing it on one shoulder. He turned to leave.

"Wait!" Usopp shouted. He just remembered something.

Vaughan turned to glance at him, the campfire light making his red eyes and facial scar look more evil than they already did. "What?"

Usopp flinched, swallowed, then spoke. "What... what did you guys do with Zoro?"

Brook silently cursed. He had completely forgotten about Zoro in talking to Siobhan.

Vaughan shrugged. "I don't know. I think Yari dragged him off somewhere while you and Soul King were unconscious. And frankly, that's all I want the extent of my knowledge to be."

That did nothing to soothe Brook and Usopp's worries.

"I wouldn't worry about him," Siobhan said optimistically. "If he's anything like Future Moss Hair, he's tough enough to handle Doll Girl or any of the other losers here."

"Losers?!" a voice cried out. It was the same lackey Siobhan had told to mate with a sea king. He was now making his way over to Vaughan and Siobhan. "That does it! Mr. Vaughan, step aside! I'm giving the little brat what coming to her-!"

The lackey suddenly tripped and fell on his face. The prisoners and Vaughan all sweatdropped.

"Huh?" Usopp grunted in confusion. "There was nothing there. What did he trip on?"

"Look at his ankle," Brook whispered.

Usopp did so. Wrapped around the lackey's ankle was a dark green vine. It appeared to coming from the jungle itself... though the jungle was quite a distance from the center of camp.

In her cage, Siobhan had discretely lifted her hand, and was now just as discretely lowering it. She looked at Vaughan. "May I go to my tent now?"

Vaughan stared at her, then shook it off. "Yeah, sure thing."

Vaughan walked away with Siobhan, leaving Brook and Usopp alone save for the other grunts milling about.

"... That was odd," Usopp commented.

"Quite so," Brook agreed.

Usopp pursed his lips. "... When she was talking about her Straw Hat, were you also thinking...?"

"Yes, actually. Do you think it's possible...?" Brook trailed off.

The sniper and musician looked at each other, then shook their heads. No, that was just silly. There was no such thing as that big a coincidence.

---

Location: Bounty Hunter Encampment
Time: Night

All was silent in the camp. As per Carrion's orders, nearly everyone was getting much needed rest before the search continued in the morning. Treasure-hunting groups had filed in from all over the jungle, so every tent was full. The only ones moving around were the guards keeping an eye on Brook and Usopp and those watching the camp's perimeter.

So it was because of this no one noticed when blue eyes appeared in bursts of small petals in various locations around the camp. These eyes took note of where the lieutenants and Carrion were and what they were doing.

Erity was in her tent, sleeping peacefully in her cot.

Yari was asleep as well, only she was hugging a porcelain doll.

Runo was sawing logs in his cot, sprawled out as if he had been knocked down in a fight.

Vaughan wasn't just asleep, but he was also laying in his cot with a pair of headphones. An additional bloomed ear heard the music was none other than Soul King music being played at top volume.

Carrion had a fancy bed instead of a cot, but he was good and truly dead to the world. He was even wearing ear plugs and a face mask. Saffron was sleeping in a sleeping bag on the floor next to him.

Once that was done, the eyes checked on the prisoners. Brook and Usopp were sleeping, still tied to their post. Siobhan was in her cage in the storage tent, but appeared to be meditating instead of sleeping. There was no sign of Zoro or the hypnotized future crew.

From where she hid in the jungle surrounding the camp, Robin dispersed her bloomed eyes and opened her real ones. "I have eyes on Brook, Longnose, and Siobhan. There is no sign of Mr. Swordsman, our Nami, our Sanji, or Franky."

"Damn," Roronoa cursed. "The camp's not that big. Where the hell are they?"

"Let's get Brook and Usopp first," Tony suggested. "Once they're safe, we can search for the others."

"Good idea, Tony," Robin agreed. "Do we remember the plan?"

The swordsman and reindeer nodded, thinking back to earlier.

The combined efforts of Robin and Nami finally led the group to the hunter's encampment. As it turned out, the camp was situated in a part of partially-cleared jungle surrounded on three sides by cliffs. It could be assumed that this spot was chosen due to its defense and being difficult to locate. Since accessing the camp via the fourth, non-mountainous side was impossible due to guards (well, not impossible, but it would cause an uproar and ruin the covertness), the Straw Hats were entering from one of the rock faces. They were currently positioned on the lower part in a large flat area. it provided enough coverage that they weren't easily seen.

"Wow," Lysopp muttered, looking through his spyglass. "A lot of hunters are coming in."

"Carrion's rallying the troops." Sanji observed. "With all the trouble we've been causing, he must have decided to up his ante."

Luffy peered inconspicuously over the rocks. Somewhere down there were his nakama, from both the past and the future. They were so close... it was taking all of the rubberman's willpower not to go barreling down there and demanding his friends back.

"Captain?" Robin called softly. "Please come over here. Mr. Cook and I are going over the plan."

"Coming, Robin."

Luffy moved away from the rocks and joined the others by Sanji and Robin. Sanji was drawing a diagram of the camp in the dirt with a stick.

"I will admit, this will be way out of our comfort zone. Our crew has never really taken the covert approach," Sanji was saying.

"Understatement of the century," Vivi deadpanned, recalling Whiskey Peak and Drum.

"Still, if we want this to work, we need to learn fast," Sanji continued. "This is how this is going to play out. Robin, Roronoa, and Tony are going to be the first to head in. It's their job to disable any patrol guards, as well as get Usopp and Brook since they appear to just be out in the open."

"Wait, what about Lysopp?" Nami asked. "Aren't we sending in all the future crew into the camp?"

"Someone has to stay here and keep an eye on the six of you," Robin told her. "Lysopp is the best choice since we need to save Longnose. His reaction to me will be bad enough, but if he sees his older self in a stressful situation..."

"... I would completely wig out," Lysopp admitted. "Which we don't need in order to keep the covert angle of this plan."

"I can't wait for you to meet your younger self," Luffy said. "Usopp will flip when he sees how manly he gets!"

"I was plenty manly back then, mind you," Lysopp sniffed.

"Focus," Roronoa scolded lightly.

Luffy and Lysopp quieted down.

"Once Usopp and Brook are sprung, Robin will go find Siobhan and ask her if she wants to escape again. While she does that, Roronoa and Tony will hunt down Zoro since we can't see where he is from here."

"What about the rest of us?" Vivi asked. "What do we do?"

"Seeing how the last time any of us went against these guys we got our butts kicked- save you, Vivi my love-, it's our job to keep a lookout from here and be available, basically," Sanji replied. "We're not to get involved unless the situation looks really dire."

"In the event that you do need to get involved, you're on defense only. Keep the enemy back and provide any kind of opening for escape," Robin filled in.

"What about those from our crew who are hypnotized?" Roronoa asked.

"That's simple enough. Just hit them in the right temple," Chopper spoke up before anyone else could.

Everyone looked at him, for what was the second or third time that day.

"Care to explain, Chopper?" Nami asked the doctor gently.

Chopper rubbed his hooves together anxiously. "Back when we were fighting Tony when he was hypnotized, we knocked him out by hitting him in the right temple. While trauma there would knock anyone unconscious, he was freed of his hypnosis immediately after."

Tony rubbed his right temple, which still sported a small bump.

No one else said anything for a few minutes, pondering Chopper's random observation from that attack in the jungle.

"... And in case you are against the future crew and all else fails, clock them in the right temple," Sanji sighed at last. "As for the lieutenants, just remember what we've learned about them to get around them. The objective here isn't defeat, it's rescue. Maybe some sabotage if we get the chance. We can worry about going all out once we have all our friends and Future Luffy with us."

"YOSH!" Luffy shouted. He was shushed for being too loud a second later. More quietly, he said, "Let's get our nakama back!"

"Good," Robin said. "Let's move."

The three pirates moved forward silently, getting closer to the camp. They maneuvered past the perimeter (Robin and Roronoa already incapacitating the guards there), successfully entering the encampment. From there, they moved from tent to tent, effectively staying out of sight until they neared the center. They could see Brook and Usopp. Standing in front of them were two burly guards.

Robin lifted her arms and whispered, "Doce Fleur."

Arms bloomed on the guards' bodies, holding back their arms and necks and covering their mouths. Before they even had time to struggle, Robin finished her move.

She clenched her fingers. "Clutch."

The guards crumpled to the ground. The sound of falling bodies startled Usopp and Brook awake though.

"Wha?" Usopp said dazedly. He blinked sleepily and looked around, then caught sight of the three infiltrators. His gaze went directly to Robin, and his eyes bugged out. "IS THAT MS.-!"

An arm bloomed out of his shoulder and covered his mouth. Brook saw the limb and grinned.

"Robin-san!" he whispered excitedly. "You're a sight for sore eyes, though I have none!"

Making sure the coast was clear, Robin and Roronoa rushed to their side while leaving Tony to keep watch. The limb covering Usopp's mouth dissipated, which did nothing to calm the sniper. He looked on the verge of a full-blown heart attack.

"Do us a favor and try not to wake the entire camp, okay?" Roronoa said.

"Roronoa?" Usopp whispered. "What are you doing here? ... Scratch that, what's Ms. All-Sunday doing here?!"

"She's Robin, our morbid crewmate," Roronoa told him. "It's a long story."

Robin ignored Usopp and Roronoa's conversation, working on Brook's bonds. She grabbed the chains, only to pull her hands back with a hiss.

"Sea prism stone," she noted.

"I can't cut that," Roronoa pointed out, hearing her.

Robin looked over the chains, moving behind the post. She saw that the chains were kept in place by a simply padlock. She poked it and when none of her energy was drained, she decided it was not made of the same substance as the chains.

She pointed to the lock. "You can cut the lock. It's ordinary metal."

Roronoa nodded, drawing Shusui. With one clean swing, he cut the lock in half and the chains went slack. In no time at all their musician and sniper were back on their feet.

"This is much better," Brook said with relief. "You have no idea how hard sea prism stone is on my old bones."

"I can guess," Robin said dryly. She gave him a once-over. "Where's Soul Solid?"

"They took my sword and Usopp-san's gear when they captured us. I have no idea where they're keeping them."

"Fabulous, now we have to fine those too," Roronoa grumbled. "And where's my younger self?"

"We don't know," Usopp replied, rubbing his sore arms. "As far as we've gathered, Yari dragged him to who-knows-where while we were unconscious. I'm really worried about him."

"We'll find him, but first you need to get up to the western wall. The rest of our group is there. Brook will help us find Mr. Swordsman and your belongings," Robin said.

Usopp gave her a wary look.

Roronoa hit him upside the head. "Be suspicious of her later. You need to get out of here."

"You can trust her, Usopp-san. I know her past is sketchy, but she's a good person," Brook added earnestly.

Usopp stood there, conflicted, for few seconds before groaning in defeat. "Fine. I just want to get out here."

"Then go," Roronoa said, gesturing.

"Got it. But please make it fast- I don't want any of the lieutenants to find us now," Usopp said, shivering and looking around. "Especially Runo- he's completely cuckoo! If he discovers us, he's going to..." Usopp paled suddenly. "... going to..."

Usopp wasn't looking at his friends anymore. He was staring at whatever was behind them. Very slowly, Robin, Roronoa, and Brook turned. They soon wished they hadn't.

"No, please, don't stop on my account," Runo said with mock cordiality, dangling a limp Tony from his hand. "By all means..."

Crap! Roronoa thought.

Robin grit her teeth. He's awake!

Runo closed his eyes and tossed the little doctor towards them. Roronoa caught Tony and the glare-off continued. When the bounty hunters opened his eyes, the one not being covered by his hair shimmered, radiating pure bloodlust. He ran his tongue over his teeth.

"Give me some ideas."

---

Next Time:

300-Something Review Special- Omakes Galore #3!

---

"Ugh, can we please just do that!" Erity moaned. "This whole 'running around the jungle blindly' thing is getting old!"

This, ladies and gentleman, is what's called "lampshading."

Roronoa snorted. "You're the last person to criticize someone for stubbornly not wanting to be saved, Robin."

Enies Lobby. That is all.

"What doofus in the World Government came up with something that stupid?" Nami asked. "He should get slapped for it!"

Meanwhile, in another time and place...

"Aaa-choo!" Spandam sneezed, causing him to spill hot coffee all over himself. "YEEEE-OOOOUUCH! Stupid coffee! Whoever is talking about me will pay for this!"

And he did get slapped for it... even if Robin didn't know that at the time.

Robin shook her head. "I doubt it. I'm willing to bet that Yari and Runo spread rumors about him having the Haze Haze Fruit in an effort to keep his real abilities a secret. Did you know that the World Government has a blacklist for devil fruits?"

This is a little headcanon of mine. With all the devil fruits in the world, there have to be a few the WG will not tolerate. The blacklist will actually be a minor plot point in a future fanfic of mine, so I'm introducing it here.

"... I found these in Black Leg's locker in the boys' cabin."

Actually, Sanji was planning to burn those.

"This isn't the first time I've been tied to a post by an enemy and had an idiot talk nonsense in front of me." Zoro smirked. "Only difference here is that I doubt I'll be joining your crew by the end of this."

See One Piece, episode 2 and 3 for details!

Lysopp had violent flashbacks of the last time he insinuated Robin was old. He held up his hands in a placating manner. "And you look gorgeous!"

This refers back to Film Z when Usopp commented that Robin should be glad to be eighteen again. We all know what happened after.

"It bugs me," she confessed aloud. "You weren't meant to stand quietly like a emotionless toy, Sanji-lolly. This whole... hypnotized thing creeps me out. More so than usual. You're meant to jump and kick and curse and call me and my sisters denizens of Hell."

By this point I'm sure you have all made your theories about Erity. This chapter pretty much confirms them, but I'm not confirming anything explicitly until later.

"Yes, but a number of pirates I have encountered were quite taken with the concept. They act like the magic of friendship can lead them to the One Piece."

... Okay, I have watched MLP: FIM before. Had to be done.

She struck a sultry pose. "Serves her right for breaking my staff and insulting me back in the jungle. My boobs are not grossly swollen. She's clearly just jealous of a gorgeous young thing like me."

To those of you like Sanji who were curious, Erity has an average-sized bust. However, unlike most anime girls, she has no issue with it. She prefers it because it's better for movement and her center of balance.

"As if you guys weren't inhuman enough," Lysopp said enviously to Roronoa, Sanji, and Luffy. "I would kill to have Haki."

"Everyone has it, but not everyone can awaken it," Tony said. "Our Sanji told us that, remember? Maybe you just haven't awoken yours yet."

Foreshadowing for the win!

"Then the guy gets the 'Not as Big a Jerk as You Could Be' award," Sanji snarked.

An award once given to Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation.

It was a happy thought, Luffy's crew conceded, but an unlikely one. You had to be some level of stupid to put four prisoners with the potential to escape together in the same area.

Well, it turned out they weren't that stupid. They only put three together.

... the Straw Hats were entering from one of the rock faces. They were currently positioned on the lower part in a large flat area. it provided enough coverage that they weren't easily seen.

Think of that scene from the Wizard of Oz, where the Lion, Tin Man, and Scarecrow were spying on the Winkies.

"No, please, don't stop on my account," Runo said with mock cordiality, dangling a limp Tony from his hand. "By all means... give me some ideas."

If you recognized this as an edited line of Freeza's from TFS DBZ Abridged, congrats! I got into it a few weeks ago and it's hilarious. I plan to reference it a couple more times in this.